Located at Southern Spain at 5 kilometers from the capital the Natural Park Montes de Malaga is a environment rich in flora and fauna with amazing panoramic views you should not miss.
Access to the park is simple and well-defined by signposts, it surrounds the city of Malaga by the North and it is an ideal place to go with family or friends enjoying a day of nature.
Meet Montes de Malaga, flora and fauna
This place was historically a dense area of Mediterranean forest, it was after the conquest of Malaga by the Catholic Kings that it become a growing area gradually, the reason was the distribution of the land among those who came, removing the forest did lead to major flooding that affected Malaga.
Phylloxera plague affected seriously to the grape grows in the area which did lead to a deep economic crisis in the late nineteenth century.
In 1930 the city decided to face the flooding problem with a new reservoir called ‘El Agujero’ and by reforesting the area that will eventually shape the current Natural Park of Montes de Malaga.
Currently is one of the few places where you can find chameleons in their natural habitat, other species also inhabit this Natural Park such as the weasel, bobcat, wild boar and foxes. Also snakes or birds like the golden eagle are characteristic from this place.
Recommendations and things to do
If you want to get back in time we recommend you to visit the Ecomuseum ‘Lagar de Torrijos’, accessible by foot by one of the many hiking trails. It will show you how the famous wine from Montes de Malaga was developed and everything is keeping preserved as it was originally.
The museum has a house, mill and furnaces in perfect condition.
Opening time: From 10am to 3pm on weekends and in September from 10am to 2pm.
Other recommended activity is to enjoy the natural environment by practicing any of the available hiking trails or to enjoy the delicious dish ‘ Plato de los Montes’ at any of the many rural restaurants that you will find, some of them older than a century.
Cave paintings and Megalithic tombs found in Casabermeja show us the prehistoric past of the area. More recent constructions like the San Telmo aqueduct show us one important engineering work of the eighteenth century.
Other points of interest
- Fuente de la Reina: Origin and destination of many of the hiking trails inside the Natural Park Montes de Malaga.
- Viewpoints with stunning views
- Las Contadoras: Interpretation Centre of Montes de Malaga with activities for all ages, rural accommodation and the possibility of a night walk in the Natural Park among many other things you can do.
Towns and villages
There are two white villages inside this Natural Park: Casabermeja and Colmenar, both places where meeting the typical Mediterranean architecture.
Montes de Malaga Natural Park Map
How to get to Montes de Malaga
Find in the map below the road route which better fits your needs:
